Interview // Marisa Anderson
All photos by Angela Betancourt
Frequent New Commute contributing photographer, Austin, Texas’ own, Angela Betancourt chatted with master guitarist and composer Marisa Anderson at Empire Control Room before her Levitation Festival set in support of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Anderson is a immensely talented artist with a body of work that includes seven albums of stirring solo electric folk instrumentalism as well as collaborations with Lee Ranaldo, Meg Baird, Steve Gunn, William Tyler, Mary Lattimore and others.
In addition to your own records, you’ve had some high profile collaborations with Tara Jane O’Neil, William Tyler and Jim White. Can you talk a bit about how these came about?
Those are all people that I've toured with and I've been friends with. Most collaborations for me come out of a personal relationship with the person I'm working with. It's almost never like a cold call, but usually built out of a friendship or spending time on the road together. Except with William, we had never played together but we knew each other's work well enough to know it would work.
Do you have a dream collaboration?
Oh I don't know! I'm pretty wide open. I don't think I have anyone in particular in mind you know? It's when the moment is right and the person is right.
You have a guitar sound and style that’s instantly identifiable yet there’s a lot of emotional range and color in those recordings. Beyond entertainment, what would you like the listener to get out of it?
When I'm making music, I'm not really thinking about the listener. I'm making it just because it feels right to make it, but the act of releasing it into a marketplace involves an implied relationship with the audience and I think I would hope to make music that people want to be accompanied by in special moments in their lives.
You’re a DIY musician touring in the era of COVID so let’s get to the obvious question. What’s the best place to eat on the road?
I'm a real grocery store eater. I just usually go to the closest health food store and hit the deli and then take it somewhere with me!. I'm not much of a restaurant eater.
Do you have any advice for younger or aspiring guitarists trying to find their own voice?
About people finding their own voice, I'd say, just play! Don't try too hard, just play.
We took a few photos in the small green room area. Though Marisa claimed, "I usually never smile in photos", she graced me with some laughs thanks to someone making a funny remark.
